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World Trade Center Disaster (world + trade_center_disaster)
Selected AbstractsElements of Resilience After the World Trade Center Disaster: Reconstituting New York City's Emergency Operations CentreDISASTERS, Issue 1 2003James M. Kendra In this paper we examine the reconstitution of the Emergency Operations Centre (EOC) after its destruction in the World Trade Center attack, using that event to highlight several features of resilience. The paper summarises basic EOC functions, and then presents conceptions of resilience as understood from several disciplinary perspectives, noting that work in these fields has sought to understand how a natural or social system that experiences disturbance sustains its functional processes. We observe that, although the physical EOC facility was destroyed, the organisation that had been established to manage crises in New York City continued, enabling a response that drew on the resources of New York City and neighbouring communities, states and the federal government. Availability of resources , which substituted for redundancy of personnel, equipment and space , pre-existing relationships that eased communication challenges as the emergency developed and the continuation of organisational patterns of response integration and role assignments were among the factors that contributed to resilience following the attack. [source] Disability and posttraumatic stress disorder in disaster relief workers responding to september 11, 2001 World Trade Center DisasterJOURNAL OF CLINICAL PSYCHOLOGY, Issue 7 2009Susan Evans Abstract Empirical evidence suggests that social and occupational disability plays a significant role in posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD). The purpose of this study was to assess the role of social/occupational disability and to identify predictors of the development of PTSD in a group of disaster relief workers (DRWs) who had been deployed to the World Trade Center (WTC) following September 11, 2001. Eight hundred forty-two utility workers completed a battery of comprehensive tests measuring PTSD and social occupational functioning. Results indicated a significant association between PTSD symptoms and impaired social/occupational functioning. Symptomatic workers were also more likely to have a history of trauma, panic disorder, and depression. Those with a history of trauma, depression, generalized anxiety disorder or panic reported significantly more disability than those without a psychiatric history. Careful screening of PTSD and social/occupational functioning in DRWs following a disaster is warranted so that early treatment can be undertaken to prevent a chronic and disabling course. © 2009 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Clin Psychol 65: 1,11, 2009. [source] DNA Preservation in Skeletal Elements from the World Trade Center Disaster: Recommendations for Mass Fatality Management,JOURNAL OF FORENSIC SCIENCES, Issue 4 2009Amy Z. Mundorff M.A. Abstract:, The World Trade Center (WTC) victim identification effort highlights taphonomic influences on the degradation of DNA from victims of mass fatality incidents. This study uses a subset of the WTC-Human Remains Database to evaluate differential preservation of DNA by skeletal element. Recovery location, sex, and victim type (civilian, firefighter, or plane passenger) do not appear to influence DNA preservation. Results indicate that more intact elements, as well as elements encased in soft tissue, produced slightly higher identification rates than more fragmented remains. DNA identification rates by element type conform to previous findings, with higher rates generally found in denser, weight-bearing bones. However, smaller bones including patellae, metatarsals, and foot phalanges yielded rates comparable to both femora and tibiae. These elements can be easily sampled with a disposable scalpel, and thus reduce potential DNA contamination. These findings have implications for DNA sampling guidelines in future mass fatality incidents. [source] Health Status among Emergency Department Patients Approximately One Year after Consecutive Disasters in New York CityACADEMIC EMERGENCY MEDICINE, Issue 10 2005William George Fernandez MD Abstract Objectives: Emergency department (ED) patients with disaster-related experiences may present with vague symptoms not clearly linked to the event. In 2001, two disasters in New York City, the World Trade Center disaster (WTCD) and the subsequent American Airlines Flight 587 crash, presented an opportunity to study long-term consequences of cumulative disaster exposure (CDE) on health-related quality of life (HRQOL) among ED patients. Methods: From July 15 to October 30, 2002, a systematic sample of stable, adult patients from two EDs in New York City were enrolled. Participants completed a self-administered questionnaire. The Short Form 36 (SF-36) was used to assess overall health status. Bivariate analyses were conducted to identify individual correlates of worsening health status. Multivariate regression was performed to identify the association between various factors and overall health status, while controlling for relevant sociodemographic variables. Results: Four hundred seventy-one patients (54.6% female) participated. The participation rate was 73.4%. One hundred sixty-one participants (36%) reported direct, indirect, or occupational exposure to the WTCD; 55 (13.3%) had direct, indirect, or occupational exposure to the plane crash; 33 (8.1%) had both exposures. In separate multivariate models, CDE predicted lower SF-36 scores for general health (p < 0.0096), mental health (p < 0.0033), and bodily pain (p < 0.0046). Conclusions: In the year following mass traumatic events, persons with CDE had lower overall health status than those with one or no disaster exposure. Clinicians should consider the impact that traumatic events have on the overall health status of ED patients in the wake of consecutive disasters. [source] Stress and well-being in the aftermath of the World Trade Center attack: The continuing effects of a communitywide disasterJOURNAL OF COMMUNITY PSYCHOLOGY, Issue 2 2005Richard E. Adams In this study, we examine the relationship between exposure to the World Trade Center disaster (WTCD) and the well-being of adults living in New York City (NYC) at the time of the attacks by using a stress process model. One year after the attacks, we conducted a telephone survey of a cross-sectional random sample of city residents with an oversample of residents who had received mental health treatment since the attacks (N = 2,368). The survey gathered information about respondents' demographic characteristics, exposure to the WTCD, other stressful events, and social psychological resources. The dependent variable (health status) was measured by using the Short Form-12 (SF-12) mental health and physical health scales. Overall, the greater the exposure to the events surrounding the WTCD, the poorer the person's psychological well-being, even after controlling for demographic characteristics, other stressors, and social psychological resources. Exposure was only weakly related to physical well-being, once other factors were taken into account. The findings clearly show that individuals who experienced greater exposure to the WTCD have more psychological problems than those who had less exposure 1 year after the attacks. Exposure did not seem to have such severe consequences for physical well-being. Thus, our study supports the continuation of mental health services to survivors of a community disaster well beyond the first year post disaster. © 2005 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Comm Psychol 33: 175,190, 2005. [source] Epidemiologic research on man-made disasters: Strategies and implications of cohort definition for World Trade Center worker and volunteer surveillance programMOUNT SINAI JOURNAL OF MEDICINE: A JOURNAL OF PERSONALIZED AND TRANSLATIONAL MEDICINE, Issue 2 2008David A. Savitz PhD Abstract Studies of long-term health consequences of disasters face unique methodologic challenges. The authors focused on studies of the health of cleanup and recovery workers, who are often poorly enumerated at the outset and difficult to follow over time. Comparison of the experience at the World Trade Center disaster with 4 past incidents of chemical and radiation releases at Seveso, Italy; Bhopal, India; Chernobyl, Ukraine; and Three Mile Island, USA, provided useful contrasts. Each event had methodologic advantages and disadvantages that depended on the nature of the disaster and the availability of records on area residents, and the emergency-response and cleanup protocol. The World Trade Center Worker Monitoring Program has well-defined eligibility criteria but lacks information on the universe of eligible workers to characterize response proportions or the potential for distortion of reported health effects. Nonparticipation may result from lack of interest, lack of awareness of the program, availability of another source of medical care, medical conditions precluding participation, inability to take time off from work, moving out of the area, death, or shift from initially ineligible to eligible status. Some of these considerations suggest selective participation by the sickest individuals, whereas others favor participation by the healthiest. The greatest concern with the validity of inferences regarding elevated health risks relative to external populations is the potential for selective enrollment among those who are affected. If there were a large pool of nonparticipating workers and those who suffered ill health were most motivated to enroll, the rates of disease among participants would be substantially higher than among all those eligible for the program. Future disaster follow-up studies would benefit substantially by having access to accurate estimates of the number of workers and information on the individuals who contributed to the cleanup and recovery effort. Mt Sinai J Med 75:77,87, 2008© 2008 Mount Sinai School of Medicine [source] Upper and lower respiratory diseases after occupational and environmental disastersMOUNT SINAI JOURNAL OF MEDICINE: A JOURNAL OF PERSONALIZED AND TRANSLATIONAL MEDICINE, Issue 2 2008David J. Prezant MD Abstract Respiratory consequences from occupational and environmental disasters are the result of inhalation exposures to chemicals, particulate matter (dusts and fibers) and/or the incomplete products of combusion that are often liberated during disasters such as fires, building collapses, explosions and volcanoes. Unfortunately, experience has shown that environmental controls and effective respiratory protection are often unavailable during the first days to week after a large-scale disaster. The English literature was reviewed using the key words,disaster and any of the following: respiratory disease, pulmonary, asthma, bronchitis, sinusitis, pulmonary fibrosis, or sarcoidosis. Respiratory health consequences after aerosolized exposures to high-concentrations of particulates and chemicals can be grouped into 4 major caterogies: 1) upper respiratory disease (chronic rhinosinusitis and reactive upper airways dysfunction syndrome), 2) lower respiratory diseases (reactive [lower] airways dysfunction syndrome, irritant-induced asthma, and chronic obstructive airways diseases), 3) parenchymal or interstitial lung diseases (sarcoidosis, pulmonary fibrosis, and bronchiolitis obliterans, and 4) cancers of the lung and pleura. This review describes several respiratory consequences of occupational and environmental disasters and uses the World Trade Center disaster to illustrate in detail the consequences of chronic upper and lower respiratory inflammation. Mt Sinai J Med 75:89,100, 2008. © 2008 Mount Sinai School of Medicine [source] | |||||||||||||